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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032655">Magis Amica Veritas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pass_the_salt/pseuds/pass_the_salt'>pass_the_salt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek, Star Trek: Voyager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Chakotay Needs a Hug, F/M, Hugs, Kathryn Janeway Needs a Hug, fun adventures in the holodeck, mostly canon-compliant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:36:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>857</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pass_the_salt/pseuds/pass_the_salt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Janeway and Chakotay have an argument about their relationship.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>J/C Photo Prompt Fic Fest 2020, Kathryn Janeway Needs A Hug</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Magis Amica Veritas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Day 2 of the J/C Photo Prompt Fic Fest! Thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Torri012/"> Torri012</a> for the manip that inspired this fic.</p><p>Title comes from the phrase "Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas", meaning "Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend" and is often attributed to Aristotle. The title itself thus means "truth is a better friend".</p><p>Unbeta-ed because I literally forgot I could have someone do it and by the time I realised I was satisfied enough with what I had.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Look, Chakotay, I’m sorry-”</p><p>He whirled around and looked her straight in the eye. “Sorry for <em>what</em>, Kathryn? This isn’t the first time this has happened, and yet you keep doing it. You keep pretending nothing’s going on. Why?” He shook his head. “Don’t answer that. Just- I’m leaving. Goodbye, Captain. See you tomorrow at 0800.”</p><p>Kathryn stood as if frozen in the now inactive holodeck. “Wait...” she tried to say, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. Then, in a last, desperate act, she willed her body to move, to do <em>something</em> to stop him...&gt;</p><p>She laid her hand on his shoulder. Chakotay froze. For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. They just stood there, silently, neither of them willing to put an end to it.</p>
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</div><p>“Chakotay... please, listen,” Kathryn said, breaking the silence. With the hand that was still on his shoulder, she motioned for him to turn around. With a sigh, he did.</p><p>“Give me one good reason, Kathryn. Because right now, I don’t see why I should.”</p><p>“I really am sorry, you know,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to do it, and I know that doesn’t change what happened, but I want you to know it was not my intention.”</p><p>Chakotay sighed. “I know you didn’t mean to do it. I know you better than that.”</p><p>“Oh, you do?” Kathryn smiled wistfully.</p><p>“As your second-in-command, and as your friend, I’d like to think so, yes.” Chakotay smiled back, then sobered. “But what you’ve done... I don’t like this, Kathryn. I don’t like how we keep dancing around it, and whenever we get too close, we pretend it doesn’t exist.” He held up a hand as Kathryn opened her mouth to respond. “Let me finish, please. Yes, I know, there are forces beyond our control, there are <em>parameters</em>, there are regulations. And I also know you can’t just break a regulation like that, not willingly. But Kathryn, <em>please</em>, stop pretending it’s not a thing. We both know it isn’t. Right now, that’s all I ask of you.”</p><p>“Right now?”</p><p>“Don’t avoid the real answer, Kathryn.” Chakotay’s voice got softer with every word he spoke, ending in a breathless whisper. “Don’t do that to me. Not now.”</p><p>Kathryn sighed, steeling herself in an attempt to calm herself down. “Okay. Yes, Chakotay, I do care for you.” He raised an eyebrow, upon which she swatted his arm. “Oh, hush, you know I’m not good at saying these things.” </p><p>She took a deep breath. “As I said, I care for you. A great deal more than I should. But I can’t just give in to that. And it’s not even about rules or regulations--my role as captain would be compromised. That is why I keep avoiding it. You are right, though, it’s unfair to you. You deserve better than that. Nonetheless, I don’t want to give up what we have now, either. I don’t want to give up our dinners together, or our occasional trips on Lake George. What we have-” her voice broke. It took a few seconds to collect herself and be able to continue. “What we have is special, Chakotay. I don’t want to jeopardise it, not by giving into my feelings or by breaking up our friendship. It’s too important to me. Maybe, if we weren’t stuck in this damn Delta quadrant...”</p><p>“It’s no use to dwell on ‘maybe’s and ‘what if’s, Kathryn. I’m not going to force you to do anything. I just--I guess I just wanted you to acknowledge it, to know that it’s not just me. I know what’s at stake here, and I’ll be here to support you every step of the way--we’ll get there when we get there. Just know that I’ll still be there for you when we get back.”</p><p>She laughed sadly. “When?”</p><p>He grabbed her shoulders. “Yes, Kathryn, <em>when</em>. I have the utmost faith in you and in our crew. I know we’ll be able to get back home.”</p><p>Kathryn leaned into his touch. It had been too long since she’d last touched anyone, and much as she loathed to admit it, she needed it. A voice interrupted her thoughts.</p><p>“Kathryn, are you okay?”</p><p>“Yes, I just...” her voice trailed off.</p><p>“Come here, Kathryn. Sounds like you need some good old-fashioned emotional support in the form of a hug.”</p><p>She melted into his touch. He was like a rock, like her anchor, her link between her mind and the real world. She didn’t want it to stop.</p><p>He, likewise, melted into her touch. Physical contact was necessary for humans, and he had been severely lacking on that front. In that moment, it didn’t matter what they were to each other. They were simply two people supporting each other.</p><p>That is, until the klaxon of a red alert sounded. They jumped away from each other, as if shocked by an electrical current, then laughed</p><p>“Figures, huh? At least whoever it is was kind enough to give us a few seconds.”</p><p>Chakotay grinned. “At least, that, yes. Come on. Let’s go.”</p><p>The doors closed behind them with a <em>swoosh</em>.</p>
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